Strange "Wowowowow" noise

[StevePritchard]

Hi,

I've noticed a noise, that seems to peak at about 35-40mph, that sounds like wind noise but it goes "wowowow", the frequency of the "wow"s changes with speed, and could possibly directly related to the revolution of a wheel, i.e. at 40pmh it has a frequency of maybe 3 or 4 times a second.

Opening the windows doesn't make it any more audible, so whether it's a sound that is audible from outside isn't clear, however, it could be that the wind noise from opening the windows is drowning the noise out.

Does anybody have any idea what might be causing the noise? Is it possible that a wheel bearing/transmission might be making that sort of noise?

Cheers,

Steve.

[perussell]

Yes, this sounds just like the noise I heard when my rear wheel bearings were on the way out - a common fault on XC90's it would appear. When I went out with a mechanic to check the problem he made the car weave (on an empty road!) on the basis that the noise was worst when the car was travelling in a straight line - bearings low loaded - and would disappear when any load was placed on them i.e. whilst weaving. In my case they took the car off me there and then and wouldn't even let me drive home so I would get it checked pdq!

[callyuk]

sounds like you got an old police siren on it from what you describe lol

[StevePritchard]

Yes, this sounds just like the noise I heard when my rear wheel bearings were on the way out - a common fault on XC90's it would appear. When I went out with a mechanic to check the problem he made the car weave (on an empty road!) on the basis that the noise was worst when the car was travelling in a straight line - bearings low loaded - and would disappear when any load was placed on them i.e. whilst weaving. In my case they took the car off me there and then and wouldn't even let me drive home so I would get it checked pdq!

Taking it to the dealership tomorrow, and will post the result...

Cheers,

Steve.

[StevePritchard]

Yep, it was the rear wheel bearings. Apparently there is a problem with the seals, and they let in water which is the cause of excessive wear. Should hopefully get mine back in a few hours - they had the parts and wanted to sort it straight away.

Cheers,

Steve

[yatesspud]

what year is your xc90 ? i only ask as mine is a 2005, just went in for a service and told there was a recall for ball joints. don't know it if that would effect the bearing ??? not mechanically minded i'm afraid.

[perussell]

Mine was a Sept 04 (54 plate) with about 32000 miles on the clock whilst another friend of mine had his replaced at 22000 miles on an early 05 reg so I would listen out carefully.
(As far as I am aware the recall involved the front steering joints whilst in both the above cases it was the rear bearings that were shot so I don't think there can be any kind of relationship betweem the problems)

[StevePritchard]

Mine was a Sept 04 (54 plate) with about 32000 miles on the clock whilst another friend of mine had his replaced at 22000 miles on an early 05 reg so I would listen out carefully.
(As far as I am aware the recall involved the front steering joints whilst in both the above cases it was the rear bearings that were shot so I don't think there can be any kind of relationship betweem the problems)

Agreed. The ball joints were front, and so aren't related to the rear bearings. Mine is an April 04 with nearly 50k on the clock.

Cheers,

Steve.

[shimon340]

hi there

The rear wheel bearing fault affects a VIN range on the pre model year 06 vehicles. the bearings were redesigned as as you mention here, the seals were failing, letting in water leading to excessive and premature wear - hence they needed changing.

The front ball joint was a concern with a batch of ball joints and only applies to certain age vehicles.

hope you all enjoy your xc90s. its one of the volvos ive never driven but I hope to own one soon!

[Arianne]

Regarding the previous thread about the rear wheel bearings.

My XC90 is into the garage on 10th May for replacement bearings (together with a raft of other things).

The dealer said that this was the cause of the noise. But the dealer also said that the replacement parts have been upgraded to ensure that they last longer (I only have 25k on the clock).

Can anyone confirm that that's the case. £500 every 25,000 miles seems a bit steep for something that should last far, far longer.

Thanks

Arianne

[shimon340]

yes, parts upgraded

what else are you having done on your Xc90?

[Arianne]

Seat belt replaced due to loose and rattling spindle / roller around which the belt is wound (inside the B-pillar trim).

Replacement rear view mirror because of some internal part buzzin like a wasp under road / revs vibration.

Lovely car but the build is just a little below what I'd expected - just a little.

Dealer is a peach though and I can't really fault them - Clellands of Galashiels, Scottish Borders.

[shimon340]

hello

seat belt is an unfortunate internal failure - not very common

mirror rattle sounds annoying but not major fault.

I currently work for another car manufacturer but hope to return to volvo soon.

the faults this other manufacturer have are so severe the concerns you have here sound like a "dream" version of a product of where I work!!!

survey the faults with other manufacturers and you will see how excellent volvo is.

ask a mechanic how well volvo's are designed for ease of servicing etc!

enjoy you xc!

kind regards

[Arianne]

Fair observation & compared to my previous Ford Galaxy the Volvo remains well ahead - but then it is some £13k more expensive from new.

Best wishes.

Arianne.

[shimon340]

i hope you much enjoy your xc90!

S

[Paul Clifton]

The rear wheel bearings should be replaced under warranty (both rears) and yes the replacement parts are alledgedly modified.

Paul.

[ianu]

Hi all,
Does anyone happen to know the VIN range ? Mine is also a September 04 (54) plate approaching 60k miles and not been aware of anything hinting at wheel bearing trouble approaching.
I'm a bit nervous as I approach the 60k 3 year warranty limit - I'd rather get this covered before I cross the line then have to stump up myself. Do you know if they'll replace under warranty if it falls within the range regardless of wear or not - or if it was going to be a problem do you think I'd have seen it by now ?

Cheers
Ian.

[perussell]

My vehicle is also a Sept 04 (54 plate) and the bearings went at about 32000 miles. It is definitely quite a common problem. If you haven't heard anything yet you may be lucky but clearly there is a design fault if they have modified the bearing on the current vehicles. I wouldn't take the risk. Take the vehicle down and ask them to check it, should only take 10 minutes. I am told the 'out of warranty' repair cost is in excess of £500.

[Genghis]

Got on 05 plate and just had this problem - luckily it co-incided with a service so both front wheel bearings were replaced (car had done 21,000 miles)

Thanks a lot to this thread for letting me know what the problem was!!!

[perussell]

Are you sure it was the front wheel bearings? When mine started failing the garage thought the problem was at the front but ultimately when the car was put up on the ramps it turned out it was the REAR bearings that were at fault.
Several of my colleagues have also had their bearings changed ( a design fault it would appear) but in every case it was the rear ones that failed first.
Might be worth a check to make sure they didn't replace the wrong ones......................

[shimon340]

£500 for bearing change? that excessive!!

I'd go to a known volvo independent for this work

(I can recommend one in manchester!!)

[Genghis]

Are you sure it was the front wheel bearings? When mine started failing the garage thought the problem was at the front but ultimately when the car was put up on the ramps it turned out it was the REAR bearings that were at fault.
Several of my colleagues have also had their bearings changed ( a design fault it would appear) but in every case it was the rear ones that failed first.
Might be worth a check to make sure they didn't replace the wrong ones......................

Thanks for this - it was indeed the front ones. I still have a year left on the warranty so guess I'll get the back ones done soon......:Banane59:, other things were slight oil leak, replacement wiper blades. That was on it's second 20,000 mile service. They also said the front pads were about 6,000 miles away from needing to be replaced and the discs had seen better days:Dancing_furious:

Probably got away lightly.......

[GMcL]

They also said the front pads were about 6,000 miles away from needing to be replaced and the discs had seen better days:Dancing_furious:


I was washing my car at the weekend, a 54 plate S60, and the front discs are actually flaking at the edges. The car is less than 3 years old and has covered 32k miles. I think manufacturers are taking the P classing discs as service consumables these days while using steel Lada would reject.
I read a couple of weeks ago, in the Telegraph, James May's Porsche Boxster with 8 or 9k miles was suffering a similar problem to which Porsche's response was he wasn't using them hard enough.
When I replace the discs I'm afraid Volvo will not get my business. If they want to charge £500 for new discs and pads I expect to get more than two years out of the discs.
It's a nice earner for them as it means every second year, combined with an annual inspection you are looking at almost a four figure bill.

[perussell]

The rear discs on my XC90 were replaced at the same time as my wheel bearings due to "pitting" and at 32000 miles.

They were replaced under warranty!

Might be worth arguing the issue with your dealer.

[shimon340]

corrosion on the edge is normal. this is exposed untreated steel. with the popularity of alloys the disc is more visible so the edge not being perfect is on display. only new cars have perfect edged discs.

to avoid dealer costs, go to an independant and use volvo approved parts

discs are only replaced if they are warped, too thin, excessively corroded on the surface where the pad contacts. corrosion on the edge is normal.

discs are made from steels more resistant to corrosion but the only totally stainless corrosionless (in appearance) steel is stainless steel. that does still corrode, just very slowly and without surface discolouration. but, cant use stainless steels (yet!!) for discs due to poor strength and themal dissipation properties.

[gnhuk]

discs are only replaced if they are warped, too thin, excessively corroded on the surface where the pad contacts. corrosion on the edge is normal.



............or some muppet at the garage fits the wrong size pads.....:(

Been there, done that and paid the price (all four discs replaced this year. Mate has just written off his S40 (50-50 with a truck) - before he replaced his discs (which he'd already bought - so I'm buying them to keep in stock for next time :)).

[RoyMacDonald]

corrosion on the edge is normal. this is exposed untreated steel. with the popularity of alloys the disc is more visible so the edge not being perfect is on display. only new cars have perfect edged discs.

discs are made from steels more resistant to corrosion but the only totally stainless corrosionless (in appearance) steel is stainless steel. that does still corrode, just very slowly and without surface discolouration. but, cant use stainless steels (yet!!) for discs due to poor strength and themal dissipation properties.

Hence the reason S/S saucpans have copper heat spreaders in the bottom.

If everyone drove 4x4's we could do without all that corrosive salt the councils are so fond of throwing all over the place, and there would only be a fraction of the corrosion on the discs. :speechless-smiley-6

All my cars have had rusty edge discs but it's easier to see on an XC90 with it's open wheel structure and raised wheel arches.

[GMcL]

corrosion on the edge is normal. this is exposed untreated steel. with the popularity of alloys the disc is more visible so the edge not being perfect is on display. only new cars have perfect edged discs.

to avoid dealer costs, go to an independant and use volvo approved parts

discs are only replaced if they are warped, too thin, excessively corroded on the surface where the pad contacts. corrosion on the edge is normal.

discs are made from steels more resistant to corrosion but the only totally stainless corrosionless (in appearance) steel is stainless steel. that does still corrode, just very slowly and without surface discolouration. but, cant use stainless steels (yet!!) for discs due to poor strength and themal dissipation properties.

This is the 6th car I've had with discs allround, and alloy wheels, and the first where the outer edge is disintegrating. Even my FIAT's discs lasted 50k miles and four years before showing the corrosion the Volvo ones are showing.
I put it down to rubbish materials in manufacture.
Think I'll have a look at Tarox next time before giving Volvo any money for this rubbish.
Cost at the dealership is not the issue here, the quality of parts used is.
Just speaking as I find. You maybe have tried aftermarket discs and found them to be inferior. My personal experience is the aftermarket discs were better than OEM, lasting over 50% longer and providing just as good stopping power.

[GMcL]

Just found this on Wikipedia:

Historically brake discs were manufactured throughout the world with a strong concentration in Europe, and America. During the period from 1989 to 2005, manufacturing of brake discs has migrated predominantly to China. Today, almost 90% of brake discs and brake drums are manufactured in China and exported globally.

Leading manufacturers in China include Laizhou Sanli, MAT (Midwest Air Technology), Winhere, Longji, and Haimeng.

Source: Link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_brake#Disc_damage_modes)

Is it coincidence that since the change over discs are now requiring change almost as often as pads or certainly every second pad change requires new discs ?
Some people will argue that because pads are now harder and last longer they are harder on the disc.
I still think the quality of discs has gone downhill rapidly.

[tem]

Just found this on Wikipedia:

Historically brake discs were manufactured throughout the world with a strong concentration in Europe, and America. During the period from 1989 to 2005, manufacturing of brake discs has migrated predominantly to China. Today, almost 90% of brake discs and brake drums are manufactured in China and exported globally.

Leading manufacturers in China include Laizhou Sanli, MAT (Midwest Air Technology), Winhere, Longji, and Haimeng.

Source: Link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_brake#Disc_damage_modes)

Is it coincidence that since the change over discs are now requiring change almost as often as pads or certainly every second pad change requires new discs ?
Some people will argue that because pads are now harder and last longer they are harder on the disc.
I still think the quality of discs has gone downhill rapidly.

Do not think it has anything to do with where the disc's are manufactured?

If I remember correctly, several components that made up a brake pad were deemed to be hazardous, asbestos, being one of them and were removed.

I remember raising the question with Mercedes, long before 2005, when disc's were changed under warranty.
The new style brake pads are harder and more agressive.

tem.

[GMcL]

Do not think it has anything to do with where the disc's are manufactured?

If I remember correctly, several components that made up a brake pad were deemed to be hazardous, asbestos, being one of them and were removed.

I remember raising the question with Mercedes, long before 2005, when disc's were changed under warranty.
The new style brake pads are harder and more agressive.

tem.

If it were just down to the pads then surely my motorbike discs would wear out at an accelerated rate too ? But they don't. Yes the bike is lighter but the braking system is in relation to the mass it has to stop, plus bike brakes tend to get harder use than car brakes.
Is it just coincidence that :
During the period from 1989 to 2005, manufacturing of brake discs has migrated predominantly to China.
also coincides with brake discs now becoming a service item with more reports of tired discs after relatively short periods of time (See James May article in the Telegraph regarding his Porsche Boxster needing new discs after only 9k miles due to corrosion).

[langdale]

Just about to have my rear bearings replaced - 15,000 KM